Salem
by Silent Angel
Summary: Mass hysteria breeds few proud hearts.


Sakura cried out in pain as yet another kunai hit her body. What was happening to her village? Why did they suddenly turn on her like this?! Darting past yet another building, the windows broken in and roof collapsing, she risked a glance behind her. Not too far away were the villagers, all running and chasing with intent to kill. Very few among them were ninjas – those that were had repented and vowed never to use their demonic skills again. Those that had refused this path had been killed. She'd seen some of the hangings, and couldn't figure out yet how even ANBU could be caught by this pathetic mob of people and hung. It simply didn't make sense!

"Sakura! In here!"

Perking up at the sound of a familiar voice, she scrambled into the small apartment Naruto had cleared out as a refuge for the remaining genin. Of all the ninja in Konoha village, only five of the nine genins had survived so far.

Naruto handed her a glass of water as the horde dashed past. "Sakura. . . ." he whispered, draping an arm across her shoulders. He glanced away as tears began streaming down her face. "Sakura, Neji and Hinata are gone. They – they tried to go into the main family house to get Hanabi and, well. . . . I was able to retrieve the girl, but those two died in return." Eyes narrowing, the blonde-haired ninja kicked at the air. "They should have sent me!" He turned to her. "You shouldn't have gone out there either. You know your parents wouldn't help you – they've 'repented' already."

Sakura sniffed, wiping the tears off her face, and looked at him, anger and pain both visible in her expression. "What the hell makes you so special?! While all the rest of us are dying off like rookie sound-nins, you somehow manage to evade the crowds and become stronger and shine even brighter! What is that? What makes you more capable of handling this than even ANBU?!" Her voice broke into a harsh whisper, and she spun around. "Why are you so in your element here?"

"Because I've dealt with this all my life. Because this is my life."

Sakura looked at him and bit her lip. The Kyuubi was the cause of that, probably, she knew. Without a word, she stumbled further into their hiding place, smiling at the sleeping Hanabi on the ground. She turned her gaze to Shikamaru, who was watching over the girl. "Hey."

He nodded, but said nothing. The movement was satisfactory for Sakura, as she glided over to kneel next to the last remaining Hyuuga. Carefully, she attached thin strings of chakra to key areas of the body. Under Shikamaru's steady stare, she gathered all her chakra together in a small ball in her palm. Unlike Naruto's special attack though, she merely pressed the chakra to Hanabi's chest and it flowed into her body like a gentle wind. No cuts appeared as the chakra quickly stopped the heart of the pale girl.

Hanabi opened her eyes and smiled, then continued resting once Sakura was satisfied that movement would remain possible so as not to concern anyone else.

"What – what have you done?" came Naruto's choked whisper from the doorway.

Sakura stood, too quickly it seemed, as the delicate chakra strings broke and Shikamaru flopped over. She wrinkled her nose. "Damn." She raised her voice as villagers began to emerge from the shadows, powerful under Orochimaru's influence. "This is the one! This is the last remaining ninja of Konoha Village! Arrest him, and have him tried!"

Orochimaru stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Tell us here," he murmured. "Tell us now what he's used his demonic powers to do." His tongue slid across her collar bone, and she shuddered, moaning. A part of her said to resist – that joining Naruto in death was better than selling herself like this – but she quickly squashed that thought as Orochimaru began applying pressure to the knife behind her back.

She nodded. "This boy is actually the feared demon fox, Kyuubi! He is the one that sold power over you to others! I, too, was fooled. I believed that I was better than you because he showed me immense power and let me partake in it. But Orochimaru has shown me that I was wrong." She winced as Naruto screamed. The Kyuubi was being extracted by Itachi and Kisame, who had teamed up with Orochimaru just for this purpose. Widening her eyes, Sakura continued. "I – I fear him greatly. He came to me by night. I saw him. . . . I saw him fly in my window and he takes me! He takes me and he tempts me! He makes me dance, and I enjoy it under the painful illusion of his power."

A young girl in the crowd picked up on what Sakura said, and suddenly shrieked. "He's here! He takes me! He tempts me!"

Slowly but surely the room was filled with the cries of young girls. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, but though she could no longer see, the sound of their screams and Naruto's cries couldn't be drowned out. Inner Sakura surged to life, overpowering her host. "Damn you!" she snarled. Several strands of chakra shot out and caught the knife behind her as she darted forward. "Replacement Technique!" she cried into the confusion.

Naruto fell in the makeshift gallows, neck snapping. Only a few steps away, Sakura's breath hitched and she turned to run. No one noticed the wild-eyed girl slip out into the night and begin her escape. Only after she'd reached the limits of the Wind Country did she let her disguise fall. Naruto collapsed, and dreamed of nothing.

Author's Note: Not my best work by far, and I'll probably try to fix it later on.


End file.
